The Edges of God (by Stephen Simpson)

(Enjoy this post from our archives.  It was originally posted March 3, 2008.)

Have you ever been surprised by Scripture? If you are like me, then you are often surprised by what you read in Scripture. God will bring you to a verse that just totally blows you away. That happened to me recently as I was reading Job 26.

I find Job to be one of the more difficult books of the Bible to read. My mind just has trouble keeping track of all of the 'discourses.' However, chapter 26 jumped out and shocked me. It was totally amazing. In this chapter, Job describes the majesty of God. He begins with,  

"How you have helped him who has no power! How you have saved the arm that has no strength!" (ESV)

Job devotes the entire chapter to this subject. Verse after verse describes how powerful, and mighty, and majestic our God is. Another interesting verse is verse 7,  

"He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing." 

This seems to be a reference to our planet being suspended in space.

But I haven't even reached the best part yet! Job continues on through his discourse and reaches his climax with the last verse.  

"Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him!" 

 The term 'outskirts' is very interesting. It can be translated edges or corners or coasts. The point Job is making is that everything we know about God represents only the very edges of His ways. Everything we hear is but a small whisper.

So, here's the challenge for today. Read and meditate on Job 26. And as you travel through this week, consider the edges of God's majesty. Listen to His thunderings and understand that they are but a whisper.

Three Observations From John 11 (by Bobby Thompson)

 It is hard to believe, but our blog has well over 600 posts.  These posts stretch all the way back to 2007.  From time to time, we like to re-post something from the past.  This is one of those posts.  It was written by Bobby Thompson and was originally posted in September of 2007.


John 11 records the familiar story of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead. Most people know the details of the events in the story, but have you ever stopped to think what we can learn about God through the words and acts of Jesus in this account? Here are three short observations and maybe you can think of more:

1. God is working in our lives for His glory.

If you look at verses 1-4 you will find two perspectives on the situation at hand. For Mary and Martha they saw a difficult and desperate situation – their brother was sick unto death. Jesus saw the situation through different eyes. He saw how the Father and the Son could receive glory in it (v.4) so he said, “This illness does not lead to death”. Yes, Lazarus did die, but ultimately Christ gave him life again in this age and in the age to come.

2. God is at the same time working in our lives for our good.

In verses five and six we read, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill he stayed two days longer in the place he was.” That is a pretty remarkable statement. What he said is essentially, “Because I love you, I am going to stay here and let Lazarus die.” This seems rather odd and unloving until we read verses 14-15, “Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.' ” You see, Jesus not only had the glory of God in mind, but also the good of his friends. He knew that they needed to trust him, more than Lazarus needed to live – Which leads into the third observation…

3. God is always working in our lives to produce faith in Him.

John 11:35 says, “Jesus wept.” Have you ever wondered why Jesus wept at this particular point in the story? I have often thought it had to do with his feelings for Lazarus or his empathy with Mary and Martha. The closer I look, it seems that he was weeping for their lack of faith. Earlier in the chapter Martha did respond in faith saying, “I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give to you.” Later however Mary came to Jesus with other Jews, and they were all distraught and weeping; It is at this point that Jesus also weeps. Surely Jesus had great affection for Lazarus and his sisters and friends, but more that anything he wanted was to see faith in God produced in them, and by application, in us also.

Extraordinary faith in God brings him great glory and us great satisfaction.

This Post Sponsored by:

For God So Loved the World (by Raquel Love)

Several of our teens will be competing in Word of Life's Regional Teens Involved competition in Jacksonville on Saturday, April 30.  One of them, Raquel Love, is competing in the Creative Writing - Prose category.  Below is the entry that she wrote for the competition.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)

John 3:16 has a special place in the hearts of all Christians. But perhaps no one really takes the time to understand what each word or phrase means. As each word or phrase is defined and explained below, perhaps you will find a new love for this wonderful verse.

“For God…” God is the Supreme deity. He is always there for us, whether we want Him or not. He is personally interested in us as individuals. The Bible says, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b) Even though God hates wickedness, He still desires His children’s holiness (II Peter 3:9-10). “He hates the sin, but loves the sinner.” Who is God in this passage? Is it Buddha? Is it Mohammed? No it’s God… The One and Only!!

“So loved…” This means He doesn’t like the conduct of men…He still has benevolent feelings towards them. Love is such a powerful word! There are three words for love in the Bible. One is agape, which is an unconditional, true to the nature of God kind of love. It is about who He is. (God is Love. 1 John 4:8). Another definition for love is eros, which is a physical, lustful feeling. And then there’s phileo. This is a person-to-person, brotherly love for one another. The love that John 3:16 is talking about is agape, because that’s the only kind of love that can save a sinner.

“The world…” The “world” is the ungodly multitude, the whole mass of alienated people from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ. God is not just talking about one continent; He is talking about the whole world we live in! Italy, Jamaica, Russia, Mexico, and America--He’s talking about these and more.

The all-powerful God of this world sent His only son, Jesus, to take the blame for our sins and put them on the cross for us! Now that’s amazing! Jesus took every sin of the world to the cross-- lying, cheating, stealing, and murdering. Then there are little sins like bad thoughts, grudges, poor attitudes, and other sins that nailed Him there. That’s why the death of Jesus is so important. He did that because He loves us that much! Who else would do that for all the people of the world?

“That whosoever …” Whosoever means every individual in the world.... It doesn’t matter whether they  believe in God or not. It doesn’t matter even if they don’t believe that God exists. He still loves them all equally. “Whosoever” means the very religious or the pagan who has never even heard of God!

“Believes in Him…” Believe means placing your confidence in, or trust in something. What is one thing that God can do that no one else can? God can take our sins away. Neither Buddha nor Mohammed can take our sins away. Just because mommy and daddy are Christians, doesn’t mean they can save us from our sins. Only God can save us from our sins. God is the only One! Anyone and everyone who believes in Him, and knows Jesus died for them on the cross, will live forever with Him!

“Shall not perish…” This means that when God comes to take us Christians to Heaven someday, we will not have to worry about the Wrath of Hell. We will be with God forever and ever!

“But have everlasting life.” Every person that knows Jesus as their personal Savior and knows He died for them on the cross will experience eternal life. All the Christians that will live in Heaven with God will be safe from the evil things of the world forever! That’s exciting!

God loves us! That is the triumphant message of the Bible. That is the greatest message we will ever hear. God wants us to know His love for us, so He demonstrated that love at great personal cost (Romans 5:8). God loves us! We know that because He gave his Son for us. He didn't want the power of "perish" to claim us, so He gave us the power of His love. He sacrificed so we could have life. God loves us! Don't ever doubt it. Don't let the evil one rob you of this life-giving truth. God loves you and wants to give you everlasting life!

Titus 2:11-14 (by Peter Brock)

I love the truths in these verses. They begin with grace. They then move to Christ's past work in salvation, how we are to magnify Christ with our lives today, and then they point us toward our future hope.

11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

12training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Empty Things (by Stephen Simpson)

In 1 Samuel 12 the prophet Samuel is addressing the nation of Israel. Towards the end of the chapter he warns them to not turn aside from the following the Lord. In verse 21 Samuel says, "And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty." (ESV) This verse was such a rebuke to me as I read it because there are so many 'empty things' that I turn aside after, empty things that have no lasting value.

For example, I will gladly stay up late watching the most meaningless Olympic events. Yet, I never stay up late for some extra Bible study time or for extra time in prayer. When you stop and think about it, who really cares who won the semifinal of the men's 200m race? Talk about something that does not "profit or deliver!"

So, examine your life. Are there some 'empty things' that are demanding your time and energy? Let's all work diligently at identifying those things in our life which are empty and replace them with things that are full of value and worth.

Remember (by Stephen Simpson)

This past Sunday evening I preached a message for our Lord's Supper service. In that message I emphasized the phrase "do this in remembrance of me" and gave 9 things that we are to remember when we gather around the Lord's Table.

1. Remember that Jesus came to this earth for a specific purpose. (Matt. 20:28 & 1 Tim. 1:15)
2. Remember that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life.
3. Remember that you and I were born totally depraved. (Rom. 3:10, 23)
4. Remember that blood had to be shed for our sin. (Heb. 9:22)
5. Remember that Jesus Christ was betrayed.
6. Remember that Christ died 'for us.' (1 Cor. 11:24, 15:3, 2 Cor. 5:21, Gal. 3:13)
7. Remember the horrible suffering that Christ endured. (Is. 53; John 19)
8. Remember that Christ restrained Himself.
9. Remember that Christ's death satisfied the wrath of God.

May we always remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Joseph and the Lord (by Stephen Simpson)

(originally posted on February, 7th, 2008)

I recently read Genesis 39. This is the chapter where Joseph is promoted in Potiphar's house. Potiphar's wife attempts to seduce Joseph. When he refuses she accuses him of trying to force himself upon her. Naturally, Joseph is sent to prison.

This is a familiar story. I have read it many times. What struck me in reading it this time was noticing the active role that the Lord plays in this chapter. He is in total control throughout this chapter. Consider these verses:

• "The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man" (v. 2)
• "His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands." (v. 3)
• "The LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field." (v. 5)
• "But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison." (v. 21)
• "The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed." (v. 23)

It should be obvious to us that all of these experiences and situations were a part of God's sovereign plan for Joseph. God was no bystander in this story. He was the master planner. We would do well to remember that the same is true of us. God is not passively sitting by and merely observing our lives. He is orchestrating them. Everything that happens in our lives is ordained by Him.

A Chosen Instrument (by Stephen Simpson)

In Acts 9, we read of Saul's conversion. We should be familiar with this story. Saul is on the road to Damascus and is stopped by Jesus. The thing that struck me as I read this passage today was verse 15. In this verse, the Lord speaks to Ananias and says, "Go, for he (Saul) is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel."

It is amazing to me to consider that God chose to use Saul. Saul was doing everything within his power to eliminate the church. He was rounding up Christians. He was participating in their martyrdom (see Acts 7:51; 8:1). Saul was definitely anti-Christian. He was utterly opposed to everything Christian. Yet, God miraculously chose to use Him. He desribes Saul as one of His chosen instruments. Unbelievable!

Then I realized how amazing it is that God has chosen to use me. I was just like Saul, anti-Christian and totally opposed to the things of Christ. Yet, God miraculously saved me. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Marks of the True Christian (by Stephen Simpson)

This morning I read Romans 12:9-13. My Bible offers this heading for that section, "Marks of the True Christian." As I read these verses I asked myself if these 'marks' characterize my life. Let's take a moment and consider this "spiritual checklist."

• Let love be genuine - Do I love sincerely and without hypocrisy? Notice that there is no stated object for this love. It is wide open. Do I love God genuinely? Do I love ____ genuinely?
• Abhor what is evil - Do I recognize evil? Do I detest it? Does evil cause me to be horrified?
• Hold fast to what is good - Do I cleave or stick to what is good? Am I able to identify what is good? This one seems to work in conjunction with the previous one. In other words, "Abhor evil and cleave to what is good!"
• Love one another with brotherly affection - Do I love my brothers and sisters in Christ? How do I demonstrate love to them?
• Outdo one another in showing honor - How far am I willing to go to honor my brother?
• Do not be slothful in zeal - Am I 'slothful' in regards to my spiritual responsibilities? Am I a lazy Christian?
• Be fervent in spirit - Do I 'boil over' for Christ? What am I most fervent about in my life?
• Serve the Lord - How do I serve the Lord? How did I serve Him today? yesterday?
• Rejoice in hope - Am I genuinely cheerful at the hope I have in Jesus Christ?
• Be patient in tribulation - Does my patience grow during trials or does my patience disappear? Do I persevere when under pressure?
• Be constant in prayer - How many minutes of each day do I spend alone in prayer? 5? 10? 30?
• Contribute to the needs of the saints - How do I help meet the needs of my brothers in Christ?
• Seek to show hospitality - Do I actively seek to show hospitality to total strangers?

Are you concerned for the lost? (by Stephen Simpson)

Have you ever noticed the words of Paul in Romans 9. Notice what He writes in verses 1-3:

"I am speaking the truth in Christ - I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit - that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh." (ESV)

As I read those words last week it struck me that I had never actually noticed what Paul was saying before. What Paul writes is truly remarkable. He expresses a desire to literally trade "spiritual" places with Israel. In verse 2, he writes of the "great sorrow and unceasing anguish" which he felt over the spiritual condition of his kinsmen, the Israelites. Notice the intense emotion and passion that Paul felt for the lost. He reaches his climax by wishing that he was "accursed and cut off from Christ" for the sake of his brothers. Paul expresses a willingness to trade his eternal security for eternal separation in order to win his brothers to Christ. What love! What concern for the lost!

I don't know about you, but seeing Paul's example brings a horrible conviction. I know of many people, including many of my 'kinsmen,' who don't know Christ. The sad truth is that too often I sit and do nothing. I fail to pray for them. I fail to engage them in conversation concerning the Gospel. I excuse my inaction by saying that "It's all up to God anyway." While reading these verses convicts me, it also motivates me and stirs my heart. I see the example of Paul and I think, "God help me to be more like Paul."

Let us use Paul's example to motivate us. We must be more concerned for the lost. We must always have a passion for the lost. We must always care about their spiritual condition. We must pray for God to give us the strength and the courage to act.

Pay Your Debts! (by Stephen Simpson)

We live in a society consumed by debt. Everything is available for "No payments now!" or "0% interest for 5 years!" Gone are the days when we save our money and simply pay cash for things. Instead, we put it on a credit card and worry about paying for it later. Most of us live with debt. We may have a house payment and/or a car payment. We may have medical bills to pay or educational loans. Some may be under the burden of credit card debt. For many of us, debt is unfortunately an all too familiar part of our lives. Each debt represents an obligation that we have. We are obligated to repay the money that we have borrowed.

It is easy to understand the financial debts we face, but have you ever stopped to consider the spiritual debts that you have? Let me ask it another way. What are the spiritual obligations which we must fulfill? What is our spiritual duty?

In Romans 1:14 Paul writes that he is "under obligation both to Greeks and to Barbarians." (ESV) Paul's term for 'obligation' can also be translated 'debtor' or 'one who is in debt.' The Barbarians Paul mentions are simply non-Greeks. So, when Paul writes that he is under obligation to both Greeks and non-Greeks he is including all of mankind.

So, what is this obligation that Paul speaks of? Paul mentions it in the very next verse. "So I am eager to preach the Gospel to you also who are in Rome." Notice the first word of this verse, 'so.' This is an important word. It connects this verse with the previous one. Paul is saying, "Therefore, as a result of my obligation, I am eager to preach the Gospel." Paul felt obligated to preach the Gospel.

Notice Paul's attitude about his obligation. He was eager to preach the Gospel. He did not dread his obligation. It was not drudgery to him. It was something he looked forward to doing. There is excitement and energy in his words. He was eager to fulfill his obligation.

What about us? It is important to recognize that you and I are under the same obligation as Paul. 1 Corinthians 6:20 reminds us that we were bought with a price. Our sin carried a high price. In fact, it was a price which we, in our won strength, could never pay. Miraculously, Jesus Christ paid the price of our sin with His vicarious death on the cross. He took care of our sin-debt for us. Now, as a result of His death, we are under obligation to Him. We, like Paul, have an obligation to preach the Gospel.

Let us have an attitude like Paul's. Let us be eager to fulfill our obligation to Christ. let us not procrastinate or delay. Let us be filled with excitement and vigor as we eagerly complete our task.

We are obligated to preach the Gospel. This is the debt we owe Christ. This is the obligation we have and the duty we must fulfill. Lord, help us be like Paul and be ready and eager to fulfill our obligations.

Joshua 7 (by Bobby Thompson)

Consider Joshua 7 for your Scripture reading today. I have written a short article about some background to this passage that I pray will enhance your understanding and application of this chapter as you travel through it.

Joshua 7 opens like a great novel or drama in which the narrator or opening scene reveals something significant about the conclusion of the story. The importance of the story is then placed on the events and circumstances that lead up to that climax or conclusion. The first word in most of our English texts is “but”; this causes us to appropriately want to relate the following statement with some previous knowledge. In this case the information referred to is in the previous chapter in which the children of Israel secured a great victory over the city of Jericho by trusting the Lord and precisely obeying his commands. Israel’s military campaign over the Caananites was to be like none other that the world had ever seen. Because Yahweh promised to fight for Israel, sometimes the military strategy took on some rather unconventional forms at times. God’s purposes in this was that Israel might be a nation whose trust was fully in their God, and that the name of Yahweh might be known and feared among the heathen nations. This was certainly the case in Joshua 6 as the Bible records the victory over Jericho. The chapter ends with a statement that summarizes the testimony of the nation of Israel in the land at this time: “So the Lord was with Joshua and his fame was noised throughout all the country.” What a contrast to the opening of chapter 7! The Bible says in 7:1, “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing…” This statement is all too reminiscent of similar statements of failure on the part of the children of Israel to be the Kingdom of Priests and the example to the nations that God wanted them to be. Time after time Israel failed to trust the Lord and obey his commands and time after time the Lord lovingly pursued and chastened them. God is a holy God and demands a holy people. He will not allow his name to be dishonored and misrepresented by sin and rebellion among his people, his representatives in the world. The account of the failure of Israel and the judgement of Achan in Joshua 7 is not an account of wrathful retribution, but is an account of a holy God in pursuit of a holy people. This was a crucial point in Israel’s history. As they entered the land of Caanan they were on the threshold of blessing or compromise; Blessing, in that it was God’s will for them to dwell in the land as his people, and compromise, in that they were entering a land that was filled with every imaginable corruption. Their mission was to destroy all the elements of corruption that God commanded, that they might not be defiled by them. The danger was that the close proximity to these elements might cause corruption to spring up in the camp and thus defile the Nation. This is why the timing and severity of the Judgement of Achan was so important and necessary at the outset of the conquest. This was to be a reminder tattooed to the memories of the people in order that they might not again experience the tragedy of compromise and that they might experience the full blessing of God in the land.